Possible contest entry

[planters49]

I'm thinking of entering the picture contest of the state fair for the first time this year. The picture can be of any subject. I'm thinking of entering the following picture, what do you think? Thanks a bunch

[Hards80]

i'm sorry, the background is too cluttered on this one.. single out one pretty flower.. use a open aperture and let the background blur.. then work in photoshop a little to pull out some colors and sharpen it a bit.. you're on the right track just try a few more.. and lets see em in here soon!!

thanks for sharing.. dustin

[vIZnquest]

I agree with Hards80.

This lacks detail, and sharpness. Also, competing with the other elements in the picture does not make the central subject stand out.

Work at getting better DOF and try many different angles.

[Carskick]

I like it very much. I sometimes get sick of either seeing only part of one flower or a field of flowers. I like the look a flower in focus, one of to the side, and greenery in the back. I'd crop it just a little though, like this:

[planters49]

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the blurred out flower that is on the left, but I will look into maybay cropping it some.

[Buceph]

I like the blurred flower on the left. It adds a bit of soul to it. Alot of macro shots are starting to get very technical, showing the specific flower. People are concentrating on getting the flower only with the technical aspects correct but are losing the emotion in the shot. I think you have captured it very well here. I would also stick with the crop. It just takes out the small bit of clutter on the right and concentrates you the two flowers. With the blur of the one on the left, you are left looking for something on the right, but if there was something there, the shot would lose its balance.

Great shot, maybe not a competition winner, but I really appreciate it, and you should should be proud of it.

Well done. :-)

[Hards80]

if this will be entered into a contest, it WILL be judged on its technical merits.. be that good or bad.. therefore, you kind of have to follow the rules.. just something to keep in mind..

best regards, dustin

[Hards80]

that said, it doesn't mean you can only have 1 flower in the picture.. i would just make sure that they two flowers aren't overlapping as its distracting when its hard to tell where one ends and another begins.. also having 3 objects is "usually" more aesthetically balanced than 2 objects.. i think if you were careful in your composition, you can do something that is "different" yet still technically correct..

just something to play around with, dustin

[bigdawg]

I agree with Dustin. Clear the path a little too by removing any thing that is in the center of the flower. Its distracting to have something that shouldn't be there appear in the photo. It's not always possible to do, but you should try anyway. Good luck on the contest. I hope you'll be the winner.


Dawg

[surfnron]

You should listen to these guys - they know what they are talking about. Contest judges see lots of photos, and it can get very hard to pick a winner. They try to narrow the field to the very nice ones and that's when it starts getting hard. So they usually wind up getting technical.
And I agree with Hard80 and vIZnquest. That doesn't mean its a bad photo, but to me, it's not a contest winner. Sorry...

Ron

And I will be posting a photo soon - please let me have it...:G